Dereck Chisora doesn’t believe Joseph Parker can retire him
Things have been calm between heavyweights Dereck Chisora and Joseph Parker, but Chisora wasn’t paying attention to Parker’s manager’s recent comments.
The banter between heavyweights Dereck Chisora and Joseph Parker has been unusually quiet going into their May 1 heavyweight boxing contest at Manchester Arena. Chisora is known for his eccentric personality and sometimes hair-trigger temper, but there’s mutual respect between Chisora and Parker.
The same probably isn’t true between Chisora and Parker’s manager David Higgins.
Recently, Higgins told the Ringside Toe 2 Toe podcast (h/t DAZN) that he could see Parker sending the 37-year-old Chisora into retirement.
“But provided that Joseph Parker does not make a silly mistake, and executes his game-plan, then I see him retiring Dereck Chisora,” said Higgins to Ringside Toe 2 Toe, via DAZN.
Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) lost his last bout to Oleksandr Usyk by unanimous decision in October, but it was a very close fight. Chisora gave Usyk major problems and looked like a younger fighter.
Parker (29-2, 21 KOs) is the former WBO heavyweight champion and is riding a four-fight winning streak. He suffered back-to-back losses to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018 but has rebounded nicely.
During a recent media call, FanSided asked Chisora about Higgins’ retirement comment. Chisora had a passive-aggressive response.
Dereck Chisora and Joseph Parker are armed with new trainers entering their May 1 heavyweight matchup
“I don’t want to say anything bad about Higgins,” Chisora told FanSided on the call. “He’s an alcoholic. He needs to relax and lay off the booze for a while. This is why he’s a manager because he does things we can’t do. He talks about retirement. Listen, Joseph Parker has never retired anybody in his bloody life, so I don’t understand what he means by that.”
Chisora delivered his verbal jabs about Higgins in a calm fashion. Since losing to Usyk, Chisora has teamed up with famed trainer Buddy McGirt. Chisora had a brief experience with McGirt while working out four years ago in L.A. McGirt’s name popped into Chisora’s head, and he invited him to give training a go for a week.
“After I realized, hold on, I know Buddy McGirt,” said Chisora. “So let me get him down here for the first week and see how it goes.
“When Buddy came, we kind of just gelled a little bit, and then everything was fine.”
Parker is also working with a new trainer in former middleweight champion Andy Lee. Tyson Fury’s words were the deciding factor for Parker.
“Tyson has always been good to me and looked after me,” Parker told FanSided during a media call. “He said he would be a great trainer, and he would be one of the trainers he rates very highly.”
Lee learned from one of the best in Kronk Gym founder Emanuel Steward. Since Steward’s passing, his nephew Javan ‘SugarHill’ Steward has carried on the Kronk Gym legacy and helped Fury defeat Deontay Wilder for the WBC title. Lee is another of Steward’s Kronk disciples.
Chisora and Parker are both top heavyweights, but a win is vital for the dream of earning a world title shot.
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Watch Dereck Chisora vs. Joseph Parker on DAZN on Saturday, May 1. Coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET.